I grew up disliking Italian Food. I know this is a weird thing to say, since everyone everywhere has at least one Italian dish that they love, but I had nothing kind to say about it. I credit this to being a picky eater as a kid, but another big factor was that I’d had nothing but boxed pasta and jarred sauce. That can be good enough, but for a long time, I’d never had a plate of Italian food reach up and punch me in the mouth. This dish changed all that.

I discovered this incredibly tasty sauce on a visit to my uncle’s. His wife grew up in a restaurant family, working in the kitchen of some very successful places. She was making pasta one night, and I approached it as a grateful guest, up until the first forkful of pasta. It nearly broke my brain. I had no idea that pasta sauce could be so rich, so creamy, and so flavorful. Social decorum kept me from requesting a pint glass full of the sauce, but only just. From there, I was determined to pry the recipe from her and start making up for years of ignorance. It may not be a day-long ragu or a simple sauce with tomatoes fresh from the garden, but it was something more important to me – it was a gateway.

Years later, I’ve not only become a big fan of Italian food, but I’ve gotten really comfortable making my own fresh pasta on a weeknight. I’ll include it in here because it’s amazingly tasty, and not terribly difficult if some well-meaning relative gifted you a pasta machine, as my wife’s mom did. Once you make it a couple times, it’s easy to make fresh, tasty pasta any night of the week. Hell, if you decide to roll it out yourself without the benefit of the machine, I’ll send you a certificate proclaiming you more man than I. If you’re having a problem getting the dough to come together, make half of the dough at a time. It’ll be easier to manage.

Boxed pasta is by no means a deal-breaker in this instance, especially given the big flavors of the sauce. That crappy canned powder-Parmesan, however, is not acceptable. Just spend a few extra bucks on a block of the real stuff – it’ll last you awhile.

The Setup

Home-made Linguine
- 2 c flour
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 2 egg yolks, room temp
- 1 1/2 oz olive oil
- 1 1/2 oz water (just fill a shot glass with half and half oil/water)
- 1/4 tsp of salt

Vodka Sauce
- 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 1 c heavy cream
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flake
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 shots vodka
- 1 c fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking

1. Place the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl and make a well in the center.

2. Place the eggs, yolks, oil, and water in the center of the well. Take two fingers and swirl the liquid in the middle, breaking the yolks and gradually incorporating the flour from the edges.

3. When you get all the ingredients incorporated, toss the dough onto a cutting board and knead for ten minutes, until smooth, firm, and elastic. Cover with plastic and let sit for a half hour.

4. After a half hour, divide dough in four (or half, if you’re just making half the recipe). Feed each half through the machine on the thickest setting, dusting with semolina if it sticks or tears. Repeat, using a thinner notch each time, until you’ve got a sheet of the second-thinnest pasta the machine rolls.

5. Using a cutting attachment for the machine or a sharp knife, cut into wide, flat tagliatelle noodles. Separate sticking noodles and coat with semolina. Keep on a parchment-lined baking pan while you make your sauce and bring a 5 quart pot of water to a boil.

Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce

1. Melt the butter slowly over medium-low. Add the paste and stir to combine as best you can.

2. Add pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste, and cream. Increase heat and simmer until just slightly reduced – 8 minutes or so.

3. Remove from heat and add the vodka and chesse. Return to heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring often.

4. As the pasta sauce finishes, boil pasta for a minute and a half – still al dente. Then remove the pasta to the sauce pan, along with a tablespoon or two of the pasta’s cooking water. Toss to coat and serve with extra Parmesan on top.